The senate body of the Arizona State University Undergraduate Student Government voted to defund the campus police this week by a vote of 13-4-1.

Senate Resolution 4, which was sponsored by the Black African Coalition and El Concilio, called on the school to “begin the process of disarming, demilitarizing, and defunding the ASU police department.” It went on to ask the administration to decrease the number of ASU police officers from 87 to 70, “substantially” reduce the budget allocated to the ASU Police Department and shift funds to “community health.” The resolution also demands that university suspend the use of firearms.

Close

Not stopping there, the resolution asks that the salaries of the 17 police officers be eliminated, with the money being used as hourly pay for employees of the multicultural center on campus. The authors of the resolution issued a supporting document in which they claimed there are “several warning signs that suggest there is potential for police violence at ASU.”

The student government also approved Senate Resolution 2, which seeks to “transition instruction online indefinitely due to COVID-19.”

“[T]he USG Tempe Senate urges ASU to promptly shut down in-person instruction and move classes completely to Zoom until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides in Arizona,” the resolution stated.

Those behind the legislation claimed that giving the students the option to attend in-person classes absolves the university of any responsibility for the health and safety of students, according to Campus Reform. The resolution also asked ASU to provide low-income students with free Wi-Fi hotspots and laptops, should the university chooses to transition to remote instruction.

The Arizona State University College Republicans responded to this resolution by issuing a statement saying that the student government has “no power” to make these decisions.

Liberals all over the country have been on a mission to defund the police ever since the death of George Floyd back in May.